Patriots' Jamie Collins shows versatility

FOXBORO 
The Patriots pulled one of their patented draft surprises in April, using their first pick on Southern Mississippi linebacker Jamie Collins. Now it’s been Collins’ turn to raise some eyebrows.

On the first two days of training camp, Collins got reps with the core defensive corps during 11-on-11 drills. The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder lined up in a variety of spots, including defensive end, while displaying the versatility that led the Patriots to take him in the second round with the 52nd overall selection.

“Whatever they ask me to do, that’s what I’m going to do,” Collins said Saturday. “That’s the kind of player I am. I’m just playing my role. Whatever role I’m in, I’m in.”

The hope is Collins will provide an instant boost to the pass rush. He improved his sack total in each of his four seasons at Southern Mississippi, going from 2 to 2.5 to 6.5 to 10 as a senior when he was named first-team All-Conference USA.

Collins is a ridiculous athlete who has run the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds and posted a vertical leap of 41 1/2 inches, which is upper echelon in the NBA. But you can have all the physical tools in the world and coach Bill Belichick isn’t putting you on the field, even early in camp, if you don’t know what you’re doing mentally.

So it appears Collins is making satisfactory progress in that regard.

Collins admitted the defense is complicated, but also pointed out the playbook hasn’t been that difficult a read.

“You just have to get in it,” he said. “It’s not hard at all if you put your mind to it. It’s your job, it’s your responsibility to learn the playbook and that’s what I’m doing.”

Pads go on this morning
The Patriots will be on the field at 9 a.m. today with practice expected to run until about 11:30. That’s the same schedule they’ve followed the first two days of camp, although there will be one noticeable difference this morning.

The shells and shorts will be traded in for pads.

“That’s when everything really comes together, when you have the pads on,” linebacker Rob Ninkovich said. “With the shells on you can’t get as much work as you can with the pads on. We’ll have the pads on and we’ll start hitting a little bit.”

That, interestingly enough, sat well with the rookies.

“I think this is how you find your football team. I mean everybody can play without pads,” receiver Josh Boyce said.

“You get out here and find out what you’re up against and what kind of guys are on the team,” Collins said. “You just do what you have to do. That’s the fun part, to hit people. That’s what we’re here to do, hit people.”

Brady’s intensity in form
Following Day 1, we commented how Tom Brady was in midseason form when it came to throwing. The same goes for the future Hall of Fame quarterback’s intense and demanding temperament.

On Saturday, Brady zipped a pass about 15 yards down the middle to tight end Jake Ballard. But the ball went off Ballard’s hands before being corralled by safety Devin McCourty for an interception.

With that, Brady turned around and put his hands on his helmet before aggressively unsnapping his chin strap. He was clearly not pleased.

“I made my read and made my cut,” Ballard explained. “As soon as I made my cut, the ball was there. I didn’t close my hands fast enough and it popped up right to Dev. I definitely can’t let that happen again and if you don’t catch the ball, make sure no one else does.”

Extra Points
Danny Amendola fumbled while fielding a punt with no one around him and Tim Tebow actually completed a downfield pass, although earlier in the workout he ran around for a good 10 seconds during an 11-on-11 drill before throwing the ball away. … Cornerback Alfonzo Dennard was a standout in pass defense, with a pick and a couple of deflections. … Receivers Kamar Aiken, Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins shined for the offense. … McCourty has been a full participant in camp, but is wearing a red, noncontact jersey after having had offseason shoulder surgery. … John Smith, who kicked for the Patriots from 1974 to ’83 and ranks fourth in franchise history with 692 points was a visitor at practice. … No official word on attendance, but it looked to be around 10,000.